Sanguine NOISE
by Original Flavour
Summary: Its his job to help protect all citizens. Its her job to help relieve all citizens of their valuables. A perfect match, the Guard Captain and the Thief. Criticism wanted.


First of all, I must say that I love Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. One of the best games, in my honest opinion, ever made (along with Morrowind, Diablo II and Mass Effect. Oh and I can't forget Saint's Row. Much love).

I don't own Oblivion or any of its characters. I just own the shadowy thief in this story.

Now that that ugly disclaimer is out of the way, onto the story!

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There was a rattling noise as the lock trembled; it was a moment or two before a click was heard as the tumbler gave way and the door opened slowly. It opened just enough for a shadow to slip through, then closed noiselessly.

The shadow moved gracefully up the carpeted stairs and came to a stop at the door at the top. From within the shadow seemed to sprout two arms and in one of its hands was a lock pick. It leaned close to the door and picked at the lock and within a few seconds, as with the lock downstairs, the tumbler clicked and the door opened.

Slipping in easily, the shadow closed the door behind it and surveyed the room. Its gaze was drinking up where everything was; bed to the right, a painting on the wall, and a dresser drawer to the left, chest at the foot of the bed, painting on the wall. There the shadow's gaze settle; it was of a serene setting, a small pond in a forest faraway in the painter's imagination, where no kind of being could ever corrupt it. At least, the painter and the one who purchased it must have thought that.

The shadow glided across the floor, as if it had no feet, and rested its hands on the painting's framework; the golden wood was intricately carved with tiny faeries that seemed to dance about the frame's edges. A second more the shadow followed the little faeries' merry dance before it tossed the painting aside; it landed with a clatter on the floor.

Behind the painting, as the shadow suspected, was a square shape made of polished red wood. This seemed to be a newer addition to the house, something the original designer had never intended to build; the wall around the red wood was cracked and seemed to have been done by an amateur. The shadow seemed to shrug before its delicate, long glove-covered fingers traced the perimeter of the square. It traced the shape of the square twice before hitting one corner of it. The redwood spun three times before it stopped to reveal a compartment.

The shadow seemed to smile and let out a feminine chuckle as its gloved hand reached behind the red wood and grabbed something. Turning towards the light that streamed through the open window, the shadow observed the object in its hand; it was a small jewelry box made of a dark wood, which paled in comparison to the painting's frame and the redwood cover. The lock was a different story; it was made of a silver metal that brought some elegance to the box's overall design. The shadow reached up and before its finger touched the lock, a tiny bolt of electricity shocked it.

"So it is guarded by more than material means," came a feminine and velvety voice from deep within the shadow. Just as the feminine shadow pulled a probe from its dark depths, the door to the room burst open.

"HALT!" shouted the shiny armored figure as it strode into the room. It took a second for the shadow to realize who it was; it was the Captain of the Imperial Guard, Hieronymus Lex "Give back what you stole, Thief," he demanded.

The shadow let out another feminine chuckle "And why should I do that?" it started to slowly circle around the room; Lex matched its movement.

"Because you are breaking the law," Lex kept his eye on where the shadow's hands were; he didn't want to be caught by surprise if a dagger flew towards him.

"Oh, come now," the shadow became a silhouette as it stopped in front of the window "How is it against the law to help alleviate the rich of their wealthy burdens?"

"Do not mock me, Thief," the Guard Captain took a step closer towards the shadowy thief; the thief didn't move.

"Oh, but I'm not, Lex," the thief looked to the floor where the painting had landed; it was still in one piece "Isn't this such a pretty picture?" the thief bent down and picked it up, examining it closer than before.

"Don't try to change the subject, and that's Captain Lex to you," he appeared to become flustered at the thief's casualness.

"Wouldn't it be nice to go to such a place as this?" continued the thief as if Lex had said nothing. The thief traced the faeries' dance with a finger again.

"Hand that over and come peacefully," Lex said sternly, becoming more than annoyed with the thief's nonchalant behavior.

"Alright," the thief turned towards the captain and took a step towards him. He seemed surprised that it was going to be this easy. Soft laughter resounded from within the darkness as the thief took another step and flung the painting at the captain. Lex caught it, surprised but it was already too late by then, just as he looked back at where the thief had been standing, there was nothing to see. The room appeared darker, though. Lex glanced up to see the thief crouched in the windowsill; the thief waved at him and appeared to smile from behind a mask within the shadows. Another chuckle and the thief disappeared.

Lex growled and threw the painting down; he rushed toward the door where another guard had just appeared.

"Sir?" asked the other guard as Lex ran past.

"After the thief!" was all the captain said. At the foot of the stairs, Lex almost tripped over another guard, who was sitting on the bottom step. He growled again and clamored out the door.

Outside was a gathering of guardsmen, waiting to surprise the thief, but were surprise when their captain came out alone "Sir, where's the-"the closest guard started but he was cut off by Lex.

"Messier, Touraine, take the south," he motioned to the two guards the farthest from the door, and they departed "Brevik, Morhaime, take the east, Underwood and Trebelli, west," he paused as the other four guards left "Kodama and McBrine, you're with me," the two guards saluted but Lex was already down the street and about to turn the corner; he wasn't about to loose this thief.

The thief watched, and felt the breeze move its cape, as the guard captain and two of his lackeys ran by the doorway it was hiding in; their armored boots causing a series of musical clicks on the cobblestone path. Another chuckle escaped the thief's lips as it held up the dull-looking jewelry box with the complex silver lock. The thief stepped out of the door way and watched the silver glimmer in the sunlight.

"There you are, thief!" came a shout from the other side of the long alleyway. The thief looked over and saw the guard captain running its way. A sigh escaped the dark folds of the thief's hood, and then the thief took off the other way.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!" Lex shouted, not slowing down, even though the other guards were.

"That would make it too easy, wouldn't it?" came the thief's singsong voice; the tone only made Lex more annoyed. Lex shouted something else but the thief couldn't make out what it was. In the next second, the thief could have guessed what he had said; around the corner, the thief almost ran into the unsheathed swords of two guards.

The thief turned to go the other direction but found that Lex was much closer than he had seemed to be before. The thief was cornered, quite literally in the northwest corner of the Talos Plaza of the Imperial City.

"You have nowhere to run, thief, just give up," Lex said confidently as he crossed his arms and a cocky grin crossed his face.

"Oh, really?" asked the thief as it gracefully hopped up onto the ledge that prevented citizens, especially drunk citizens, from falling into the reservoirs of water that lined all districts of the city.

"Don't try anything funny, thief," the grin that had been on the captain's face faded and was replaced by an alert grimace "Just hand over the stolen goods and come quietly," Lex took a step closer to the cornered thief and held out his hand.

"Oh, okay then," the thief played innocent but Lex was still ready for anything. The thief seemed to be getting ready to step down and the guards, save for Lex, were relaxing their grip on their swords.

Lex was ready for anything, almost anything. The thief seemed to smile and he noticed the thief's eyes; they were a vivid emerald green. The green-eyed thief smiled a few moments more before it threw the box at him, hitting him square in the face. Lex lost his balance and fell, landing on his rear and a sickening crunch was heard as his left palm hit the cobblestone. As he looked up, clutching his now-bleeding nose, he saw the thief wave and slip over the edge. He growled angrily and waved away the other guards who tried to lend a hand in helping him up. After a couple times of trying, Lex finally got up and rushed over to the ledge and looked down; there was no sign of the thief but the thief's laughter could be heard on the slight wind that had kicked up. He let out another growl and stalked away angrily.

Under the ledge, listening to the sound of metal clinking on stone fading away, the thief was leaning against the wall on a hidden ledge. The thief reached up a hand and pulled away its hood and mask to reveal a slight tan, heart-shaped face framed by hair that was more strawberry than blond.

"That was fun," she chuckled again as she glided towards the sewer hatch "Let's do it again, Lex," her laughter remained a few seconds more on the wind as the roar of Lex's anger echoed over the plaza as he found the dull jewelry box empty. The corners of the thief's full lips turned upwards and small creases appeared in her freckled cheeks as she smiled at the glittering necklace in her hand before she disappeared into the sewers.

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Whew! This is my first real fanfiction that I wrote without being half-asleep and that I am actually kind of proud of. Please tell me what you like about it and what you didn't like. Any kind of good criticism is welcome; I am always looking for ways to improve.


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